Gear used:
1.LP-type guitar(sorry i forgot the brand), set to the middle position to simulate a single coil sparkly tone. (Sorry again, no strat or tele available at that moment : )).
2. behringer solid state modelling amp at TYMC. Amp is set to clean and flat as possible(fender setting) so it doesn't add gain/ more coloration to the pedal.
This is yet another versatile pedal from the cbread crew. Released more than a month ago, it's probably the best pedal out there that can cop out those arguably best Rolling Stones tones ever(Get yer Yayas Out live album). I'm not really a big stones fan but I understand that it is modeled after the Ampeg bass amps they brought with them on that tour for their guitar tones(yes, they used bass amps for their guitars), it actually is an OD/amp simulator that's made for bass that works just as well with guitars. It can also do Queens of the Stone Age tones, but having lmited exposure to QOTSA's music, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly what era in QOTSA's career is the tone it delivers.
First off, as far as construction goes, it's very easy on the eyes(can't resist that blue and white combination) and feels solid like the other cbread products. The aesthetics are patterned after the ampeg amp it's been modeled after.
Compared to other OD's, one would immediately hear and feel it's compression specially if the gain is high. The tone stack on this unit works in such a way that the higher your treble and bass frequencies are, the more scooped are the mids and vice versa. To my ears, it sounds best with the treble and bass quite high. The scooped-ness of its mids on this setting does not mean it will be fizzy and wimpy though. It's still fat and the sound is akin to an 8" speaker being fed with a huge guitar signal causing it to distort and cry. As you may realize by now, this is very different from your typical TS-clone OD.
I hear its sound as a fender champ being pushed to its limits with its gain maxed out. But the real magic happens when the gain is at 11-12 o clock. With this setting, you can fingerpick clean sparkling passages on one measure then suddenly launch into a raunchy RStones/The Who kind of riffs the next. You can set the gain that it breaks up in the right kind of way due to the wide sweep of the gain knob and how it interacts with the controls. This is the kind of control that only JFETs in the circuit can provide, something that can be very hard to achieve with diodes. I first encountered this kind of touch sensitivity in a pedal with a skreddy screwdriver I had.
As much as it shines in the rhythm applications, it's no slouch on the lead sounds department either if you are looking for that lo-fi kind of lead sound, something with a hint of fuzz in it. There were other pedals that was patterned after a fender champ's dirt sound but IMHO this one takes the cake. Why? The problem with those other pedals like Lovepedals' Les Lius is that they just sound too fake and farty when it comes to lead tones. They sound more like crumbling fuzz than a fender champ. The SFT has that singing quality which is amazing for a pedal with scooped mid tones. It's a tough balancing act but they managed to pull it off.
There you go, another winner from Catalinbread pedals.: )
1.LP-type guitar(sorry i forgot the brand), set to the middle position to simulate a single coil sparkly tone. (Sorry again, no strat or tele available at that moment : )).
2. behringer solid state modelling amp at TYMC. Amp is set to clean and flat as possible(fender setting) so it doesn't add gain/ more coloration to the pedal.
This is yet another versatile pedal from the cbread crew. Released more than a month ago, it's probably the best pedal out there that can cop out those arguably best Rolling Stones tones ever(Get yer Yayas Out live album). I'm not really a big stones fan but I understand that it is modeled after the Ampeg bass amps they brought with them on that tour for their guitar tones(yes, they used bass amps for their guitars), it actually is an OD/amp simulator that's made for bass that works just as well with guitars. It can also do Queens of the Stone Age tones, but having lmited exposure to QOTSA's music, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly what era in QOTSA's career is the tone it delivers.
First off, as far as construction goes, it's very easy on the eyes(can't resist that blue and white combination) and feels solid like the other cbread products. The aesthetics are patterned after the ampeg amp it's been modeled after.
Compared to other OD's, one would immediately hear and feel it's compression specially if the gain is high. The tone stack on this unit works in such a way that the higher your treble and bass frequencies are, the more scooped are the mids and vice versa. To my ears, it sounds best with the treble and bass quite high. The scooped-ness of its mids on this setting does not mean it will be fizzy and wimpy though. It's still fat and the sound is akin to an 8" speaker being fed with a huge guitar signal causing it to distort and cry. As you may realize by now, this is very different from your typical TS-clone OD.
I hear its sound as a fender champ being pushed to its limits with its gain maxed out. But the real magic happens when the gain is at 11-12 o clock. With this setting, you can fingerpick clean sparkling passages on one measure then suddenly launch into a raunchy RStones/The Who kind of riffs the next. You can set the gain that it breaks up in the right kind of way due to the wide sweep of the gain knob and how it interacts with the controls. This is the kind of control that only JFETs in the circuit can provide, something that can be very hard to achieve with diodes. I first encountered this kind of touch sensitivity in a pedal with a skreddy screwdriver I had.
As much as it shines in the rhythm applications, it's no slouch on the lead sounds department either if you are looking for that lo-fi kind of lead sound, something with a hint of fuzz in it. There were other pedals that was patterned after a fender champ's dirt sound but IMHO this one takes the cake. Why? The problem with those other pedals like Lovepedals' Les Lius is that they just sound too fake and farty when it comes to lead tones. They sound more like crumbling fuzz than a fender champ. The SFT has that singing quality which is amazing for a pedal with scooped mid tones. It's a tough balancing act but they managed to pull it off.
There you go, another winner from Catalinbread pedals.: )
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